Do You Still Own This Garbage?

And stick with me -- I'll tell you why I still own it. Plus, I'll ask a question, make a confession, and explain why I've been buying stocks. But before I do, you must read this from a stock jock I like and respect.

Why I like Jim Cramer"It is hard to imagine anything but more downside for these stocks and therefore more downside for the rest of the market." -- Jim Cramer, July 15, 2008

When I say I like Jim Cramer, it's no backhanded compliment. I've been reading him for 10 years. I count him -- along with my pals Bill Mann and Tom Gardner -- among the best and most passionate stock guys around.

I even wrote a regular column for Cramer's website some years back. One day, he shot me an email saying simply, "nice analysis," and it made my day. (Though he won't remember any of that.) Point being, when Cramer talks (and he does), I listen.

Where are all the contrarians?That's the question I promised at the outset. So, where are all the contrarians? How can it be that before yesterday (when I sat down to write this column, I swear!) it seemed that not one person in the financial media saw value in Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) or Citigroup (NYSE: C) -- both of which were yielding mid-double digits and priced nearly for bankruptcy?

And even if both do go belly-up, why was nobody sniffing around the Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF), which also gets you a piece of JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) ? Is every one of these institutions going out of business, too?

And I'm not talking about buying these stocks "for a technical rally" because they are "short-term oversold" -- whatever that means. I'm talking about being contrarian -- buying when there's blood in the streets -- the only truly proven investment strategy I know.

Now, my confessionMonday morning, I bought stocks. The market was down more than 2% by 10 a.m., and you could cut the doom and gloom with a knife.

I wanted to buy more Bank of America -- which, as you may have guessed, is my own personal "garbage" (even though I still believe in the beleaguered bank) -- or at least the financial services ETF, but I didn't.

Know why? Because I was freaked by what folks were saying on CNBC and in The Wall Street Journal. I couldn't find one person who shared my view that the mere fact that nobody could see a reason for the financials to recover was the buy signal I was looking for.

That's when I read Jim Cramer -- and chickened out and bought the S&P 500-tracking SPDRs (SPY). But that was a mistake: You don't bottom-fish when some idiot on TV says "it's hard to imagine anything but downside for the market." You buy when a smart guy like Jim Cramer says it.

You don't have to be a cowboyI'm not suggesting you run off like a colleague of mine (let's call him "Randal Tycoon"), who on Monday went ultra-long the financials and ultra-short ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) and the energy stocks (though I admire his moxie and wish I had his money). This is not about short-term trading.

But if, like me, you like the idea of loading up on proven cash generators like American Express (NYSE: AXP) and Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) , or any of two dozen other market leaders trading at bargain-basement prices, you want to do it when some clown on CNBC is shouting "There's a 10% chance we'll have a Depression!"

Depression? Holy smokes! Kooks aside, this is the ugliest mood I've seen on Wall Street in 20 years of following the markets -- and that includes 2001, when at least a handful of Pollyannas were hopeful. Does this mean we've hit bottom, and it's smooth sailing from here? No. But it tells me that now is the time to buy stocks.

What to do now …Last time things got anywhere near this ugly was the spring of 2002. That also happened to be the year I started working with David and Tom Gardner on their Motley Fool Stock Advisor newsletter. The first few months were a bit rocky.

But six years later, 23 of their first 24 stock recommendations have made their subscribers money. Seven have tripled in value, and two are up more than 800%. Did David and Tom call the precise bottom? No, but at this point, do you think anyone cares?

That, my friend, is how the market works. Over the long term, the stocks of America's best companies go up. And the very best time to buy them is when the smartest investors on Wall Street can't find a reason why stocks can go up. Thanks, Jim.

If what I say makes sense, and you need help finding great stocks, I recommend you give Stock Advisor a try. You get the top picks for new money right now from Motley Fool co-founders David and Tom Gardner, and you can try the whole service for a whole month free.

There's no obligation to join. And this time you'll have no regrets. To find out more about this free trial, click here.

Paul Elliottowns shares of Bank of America. You can see the entireStock Advisorportfolio with your free trial. Bank of America and JPMorgan are Motley Fool Income Investor recommendations. Starbucks is an Inside Value and Stock Advisor recommendation. American Express is an Inside Value pick. The Motley Fool owns shares of American Express, SPDRs, and Starbucks and has a disclosure policy.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

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If all you are gonna do is scan the newsletters, punch in symbols and buy/sell based on the newsletter, drop your subscription, get a broad based fund, build it up past 25 grand then go to Schwab and sign up for managed accts, meet with your advisor once a quarter, and, go back to work away from the markets and watch tivo in your spare time rather than read the fool.

I like the optimism. While it looks like this market is not going to bounce back to 2007 any time soon, it is going to go up and down and someday hit new highs. When the confidence comes back to the market the big gains will already have been made by those who didn't wait for a good feeling.

We keep hearing about all these winners and the millions, but this isn't 1990, Dell hasn't done anything for years, that is history. Hindsight is 20/20. So far my subscription to fools has cost me the subsciption plus $6000.00 so the trailwaze has made good point. Plus Walmart hasn't done squat for years, thought I would add them too.

Maybe the reason that so many are short financials is that the reserves of the entire banking system are a negative $150 billion, so the only thing keeping them afloat is the goodwill of the Fed?

There are things selling for a lot cheaper than the banks - why not look for them instead of focusing on dividend yields that cannot be sustained in the face of quarterly multi-billion dollar writedowns?

Bank of America shot itself in the foot by buying countrywide, we've been saying that at the housing bubble blog since the news came out that they made an offer...

You need to plan for the worst. That doesn't necessarily mean buying gold - it could just mean buying the cheapest decent companies around that are least likely to go under in the event of a depression, and which would do well even if things took a turn for the better.

America's waking up to the consequences of decades of credit expansion and its attendant consequences.

you could also consider investing in yourself right now... come up with an idea a plan and execute... competitors are less likely to react to you because "spending is tight"... not a better time to get into the market for yourself

I am sorry but this is not another cycle. We are entering a long term secular bear market that we may not even see the end of. It seems like people fail to see the reason behind it and it is fundamental - WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF CHEAP HYDROCARBON ENERGY. This has been the lifeblood of the unprecedented growth in the previous century. The long term outlook is bleak. There is a possibility we get lucky and find an alternative but as things stand this is very unlikely. The contrarian approach and picking bottoms during extremely negative sentiment will not work.

Did anybody say Jim Rogers. As far as I'm concerned he was the mother of all contrarian indicators last week. When he started deriding the Fed's actions and threatened to short FNM and FRE some more if there was any rally from the Fed's plans, I closed out all my positions in the CNBC million dollars challenge and substituted FNM, FRE, LEH, and AMR. Three of my portfolios in the contest ended up the week 30+% up.

IMO the Rogers that was on TV last week was in the grips of some terrorist organization and was forced to say stuff in the hope of ending All American ways of life and Dreams for all Americans. At the very least he should be taken to Guantanamo and water boarded to confess his ties to terrorists. I say,follow the money to and from his accounts and see where they lead. The feds might finally catch Osama in the process!

Jim Rogers is not the cause of it. He is just a trader. The cause is predatory lending and lack of oversight in addition to the complete incompetence or intentional sabotage of the economy by the Fed esp under Alan Greenspan. I am leaning more towards the latter as a theory.

The person who should be held accountable is Mr Greenspan who presided over and engineered this collapse which will lead to the biggest transfer of wealth from the middle class to the rich in the history of this country.

Also give me a break..the feds don't want to catch Osama. if they did they would have caught him long ago. He is still an asset for the CIA as he was before and during 9/11. Incidentally during 9/11 he was in a US hospital in Dubai. All his family is close with the Bushes. you should do some more research before making these statements.

My head hurts with investment "advice". That was why I joined The "Advisor" about two years ago and I bought 12 of their recommendations at the time with equal amounts of money allocated to each. My record is down 16% in aggerate over the period. My head still hurts!

Whatever Mr. Rogers did or did not do in the past does not entitle him to try to bring down civilization as we know it.

His comments last week was reckless and irresponsible. Making millions more for his own gain at the expense of millions of innocent Americans can never make it right in my book.

I hope he shorted more stocks after the news of the Feds plans started a pop for the Financials for a few minutes. Maybe he's down with nothing but his shorts this weekend. It can happen. Remember the Hunt brothers of the 80s?

IMO he's one of the most dangerous investors out there. He's a disgrace to the Human race.

Perhaps the problem with the column is that the author has only 20 years of investing experience. This period has been arguably the greatest bull market run ever.

Anyone who does not realize that fact, thinks that the current pullback is "blood in the streets" rather than just sweat on the palms of nervous traders.

I have been investing on my own for over 40 years following some of the trading lessons my late father taught me from his almost 50 year career on the street, he started as a page on the floor in his late teens in the early 1920's. He really did see blood in the streets in '29, the late 30's, the twenty year grind down from '62-82'.

In fact that later period has far more resemblance to today's situation than 2002, 1994, 1987 or 1982. I expect us to grind down with occasional sharp rallies like this past week.

Moreover as far as financials go, they may stabilize but the drivers of their profit over the past 10 years are gone, negative real interest rates. Where will profit growth come from in an economy that needs two or more years to get back to even 2-3% growth while at the same time in all likelihood the enormous stimulus from the war spending will be winding down.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

JP Morgan CEO said there is more downside coming. Another drop in the Dow of 5-8%. If you have at least a three year horizon, this is a good time to buy quality names with good management. For those who know The Fool, its interesting that they read these investing comments and then knock them. This is not a "trading" website. You should invest in companues that will grow whether US or elsewhere. Current US governemnt policies support a wealth thransfer to the middle east and rich people. Until that changes, don'tt listen to what Wall Street tells you.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it through a devalued dollar. No intervention would be much better. We would cut out the rot and have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of percent over the past years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position... I also think it's going down further.

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan and now Bernanke. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it through a devalued dollar. No intervention would be much better. We would cut out the rot and have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of percent over the past years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position... I also think it's going down further.

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan and now Bernanke. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it through a devalued dollar. No intervention would be much better. We would cut out the rot and have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of percent over the past years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position... I also think it's going down further.

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan and now Bernanke. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it through a devalued dollar. No intervention would be much better. We would cut out the rot and have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of percent over the past years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position... I also think it's going down further.

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan and now Bernanke. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it through a devalued dollar. No intervention would be much better. We would cut out the rot and have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of percent over the past years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position... I also think it's going down further.

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan and now Bernanke. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

The financial sector is rotten. Even if the Fed can prop them up it is only in the short term and regardless you and I will be paying for it. No intervention would be much better. We would have a faster recovery.

Jim Rogers is up hundreds of of percent for the past 10 years. I wouldn't worry about him losing a few bucks here and there. Remember he shorted these 2 stocks a year ago. methinks he made more than enough to afford to add more to his position...

I would join him in making money rather than hoping our rotten system recovers. The Fed itself is a cancerous growth. We should let the markets decide rates not some privately owned institution with complete control of our monetary policy and no oversight.

If you want to cast blame cast blame on Greenspan. Rogers is just the messenger.

Look at the five year gains for silver, gold, platinum, rhodium. I'm getting 20%+ returns per year just by buying and holding physical material. Gold mining is in global decline, as new finds replace about half of the production from old mines that close. South Africa had its worst year of production since the 1920's. China is now the world's number one gold mining country, and the Chinese gov't buys everything that country's mines take out of the ground, so it never reaches market. According to the US Geological Survey, silver has about 15 years left before depletion. You can't have nano-technology or many of the recent high tech developments in electronics without silver (the highest electrical conductivity, and highest light reflectivity of all metals).

This isn't 1980. The total amount of silver available for investors to take physical delivery of is estimated to be about 1/4 that of gold.

There's a reason that JP Morgan said "Gold is money. Everything else is merely credit."

Look at the five year gains for silver, gold, platinum, rhodium. I'm getting 20%+ returns per year just by buying and holding physical material. Gold mining is in global decline, as new finds replace about half of the production from old mines that close. South Africa had its worst year of production since the 1920's. China is now the world's number one gold mining country, and the Chinese gov't buys everything that country's mines take out of the ground, so it never reaches market. According to the US Geological Survey, silver has about 15 years left before depletion. You can't have nano-technology or many of the recent high tech developments in electronics without silver (the highest electrical conductivity, and highest light reflectivity of all metals).

This isn't 1980. The total amount of silver available for investors to take physical delivery of is estimated to be about 1/4 that of gold.

There's a reason that JP Morgan said "Gold is money. Everything else is merely credit."

People should have planned for this 1 1/2 to 2 years ago (Don't tell me you didn't see it coming). Poor policy will only carry you so long.

The dividend payers of 2 years ago are what has kept me in the green this year. Oh, and the shorts of compnies that are poorly run. HD wanted to finance 20 bil for a stock buyback. Shorted it! Countrywide, shorted in 5/07. Print media, shorted it!...Ans the list goes on.

Now is the time to sit back and keep your head down. I haven't made a trade since January and am up over 10% YTD. And Jim Cramer. Buy sell buy sell, great plan for your broker, not so great for you.

In light of the recommendations and the comments on this board, does anyone really know where the banks are heading? Is anyone aware of the formation of the North American Union and the Amero? Does anyone realize that until the FED is ousted from control of our money system, we are puppets for them while they continue to control and manipulate the public and our perceived value of the dollar. This is the undertow of a huge wave of 'scare tactics', which in fact declare where we are going. If you lack an abundance and prosperity mindset, and react on your fears, you will get what you expect. Anyone thinking that anyone will be held accountable for the actions of the FED, good luck with that one. For as long as they maintain control, they get to precede over our comic tragedies over and over while raking in the paybacks with interest. There is absolutely NOTHING backing up the value of our currency anymore. The war...they're in it for the same reasons most are investing - for the almighty buck.

Better look into what investing in the New World Order and it's market will be like.

Trusting market cycle comebacks are a thing of the past. And don't think we haven't been warned...as usual, most aren't listening or observing beyond their noses. I'm simply bowing out of the 'fool' since it's label doesn't align with being 'smart'.

In light of the recommendations and the comments on this board, does anyone really know where the banks are heading? Is anyone aware of the formation of the North American Union and the Amero? Does anyone realize that until the FED is ousted from control of our money system, we are puppets for them while they continue to control and manipulate the public and our perceived value of the dollar. This is the undertow of a huge wave of 'scare tactics', which in fact declare where we are going. If you lack an abundance and prosperity mindset, and react on your fears, you will get what you expect. Anyone thinking that anyone will be held accountable for the actions of the FED, good luck with that one. For as long as they maintain control, they get to precede over our comic tragedies over and over while raking in the paybacks with interest. There is absolutely NOTHING backing up the value of our currency anymore. The war...they're in it for the same reasons most are investing - for the almighty buck.

Better look into what investing in the New World Order and it's market will be like.

Trusting market cycle comebacks are a thing of the past. And don't think we haven't been warned...as usual, most aren't listening or observing beyond their noses. I'm simply bowing out of the 'fool' since it's label doesn't align with being 'smart'.

Ah, Bear Stearns. Is anyone here aware of the reason for the Bear Stearns implosion? That the hedge funds hyped by Jim Cramer illegally short-sold millions of nonexistent shares of Bear Stearns stock, then got David Faber to falsely report that Goldman Sachs had denied credit to Bear Stearns while they cashed out their Bear Stearns accounts to create a "run"? That they then turned around and offered to "help" Bear Stearns out on extremely unfavorable terms? I used to think Cramer was just an annoying a-hole, but it turns out he's a crook too.

We do not have an energy crisis or a credit crisis. What we have is a leadership crisis along with greed at the top of much of corporate america. How many CEOs of the Dow 30 companies do you have any respect for?? Many have been ousted and then walked away with tens of millions that no sane Board of Directors could ever justify.

During World War II some of Churchill's greatest speeches were during England's darkest hours. He rallied the troops and the people. Roosevelt had fireside chats. What do we hear from Washington besides blame and finger pointing. Where are the plans to right the ship ??

Take a ride in a Prius and look at the Energy display. I rode in my daughter's Prius for 30 minutes and marveled at the information there. I then drove my Accord on a 200 mile round trip that I make many times. My gas mileage went from 33.5 to 38.2 MPG using what I learned. I think I could get close to 40 MPG with a little practice.

GM and Ford should have such a display in every 2009 vehicle and then come out with aan aftermarket display for existing cars. That will really increase traffic in their showrooms. It would probably also start to cut gas consumption by 15 to 20 % almost instantly. Where is American leadership on these issues with existing technology??

Jim Cramer is an idiot. Anyone can run ther mouth about stocks. Do you ever see where he actually bought or sold. Or a record of his trades-P&L. No anyone can be an expert when they don't keep track of profit and loss.

I cannot actually believe that anyone would give you any money for your so-called 'advice'... and if they do they deserve to lose their shirt for being such a godamned idiot and actually listening to this totally ill-informed and ignorant BS.

There is no value to be found in the valueless. I would rather put all my money into a big pile and burn it than invest in financials right now. They, like Fannie and Freddie, are

way over-leveraged and many will fail. The ones who won't will be the ones who are bailed out.

And Onyong is a complete moron too. Jim Rogers is telling the truth for goodness sake. He's a legend as are the Hunt brothers for that matter. Why should the Fed and the Treasury support reckless and feckless financial businesses at the expense of dollar holders and taxpayers? This isn't kindergarten anymore, this isn't Maoism, Fascism or the Khymer Rouge: this is the real world and free-market capitlalism where the prudent and wise are supposed to succeed and those who are are supposed to fail. The 'most dangerous investors' are the President's Working Group on Financial Markets.

Now my advice to everyone, and it's free by the way, is buy gold, silver and their miners (Barrick, PAAS, SSRI) and oil service companies and ignore douchtards who tell you to give your money to failed institutions like Citigroup.

I cannot actually believe that anyone would give you any money for your so-called 'advice'... and if they do they deserve to lose their shirt for being such a godamned idiot and actually listening to this totally ill-informed and ignorant BS.

There is no value to be found in the valueless. I would rather put all my money into a big pile and burn it than invest in financials right now. They, like Fannie and Freddie, are

way over-leveraged and many will fail. The ones who won't will be the ones who are bailed out.

And Onyong is a complete moron too. Jim Rogers is telling the truth for goodness sake. He's a legend as are the Hunt brothers for that matter. Why should the Fed and the Treasury support reckless and feckless financial businesses at the expense of dollar holders and taxpayers? This isn't kindergarten anymore, this isn't Maoism, Fascism or the Khymer Rouge: this is the real world and free-market capitlalism where the prudent and wise are supposed to succeed and those who are are supposed to fail. The 'most dangerous investors' are the President's Working Group on Financial Markets.

Now my advice to everyone, and it's free by the way, is buy gold, silver and their miners (Barrick, PAAS, SSRI) and oil service companies and ignore douchtards who tell you to give your money to failed institutions like Citigroup.

I cannot actually believe that anyone would give you any money for your so-called 'advice'... and if they do they deserve to lose their shirt for being such a godamned idiot and actually listening to this totally ill-informed and ignorant BS.

There is no value to be found in the valueless. I would rather put all my money into a big pile and burn it than invest in financials right now. They, like Fannie and Freddie, are

way over-leveraged and many will fail. The ones who won't will be the ones who are bailed out.

And Onyong is a complete moron too. Jim Rogers is telling the truth for goodness sake. He's a legend as are the Hunt brothers for that matter. Why should the Fed and the Treasury support reckless and feckless financial businesses at the expense of dollar holders and taxpayers? This isn't kindergarten anymore, this isn't Maoism, Fascism or the Khymer Rouge: this is the real world and free-market capitlalism where the prudent and wise are supposed to succeed and those who are are supposed to fail. The 'most dangerous investors' are the President's Working Group on Financial Markets.

Now my advice to everyone, and it's free by the way, is buy gold, silver and their miners (Barrick, PAAS, SSRI) and oil service companies and ignore douchtards who tell you to give your money to failed institutions like Citigroup.

I cannot actually believe that anyone would give you any money for your so-called 'advice'... and if they do they deserve to lose their shirt for being such a godamned idiot and actually listening to this totally ill-informed and ignorant BS.

There is no value to be found in the valueless. I would rather put all my money into a big pile and burn it than invest in financials right now. They, like Fannie and Freddie, are

way over-leveraged and many will fail. The ones who won't will be the ones who are bailed out.

And Onyong is a complete moron too. Jim Rogers is telling the truth for goodness sake. He's a legend as are the Hunt brothers for that matter. Why should the Fed and the Treasury support reckless and feckless financial businesses at the expense of dollar holders and taxpayers? This isn't kindergarten anymore, this isn't Maoism, Fascism or the Khymer Rouge: this is the real world and free-market capitlalism where the prudent and wise are supposed to succeed and those who aren't are supposed to fail. The 'most dangerous investors' are the President's Working Group on Financial Markets.

Now my advice to everyone, and it's free by the way, is buy gold, silver and their miners (Barrick, PAAS, SSRI) and oil service companies and ignore douchtards who tell you to give your money to failed institutions like Citigroup.

Jim Cramer has a player rating of 80.96. He deserves more respect. He does a good job of fundamental analysis. His strategy tips are useful, although I disagree with some of them.

But you have found his greatest weakness. He deludes himself into thinking he can pick tops and bottoms. He almost ruined his previous hedge fund when he became extremely bearish at what turned out to be a market bottom. Luckily, his wife came to work and bailed him out, interpreting his bearishness as capitulation.

The key to being successful with the Motley Fool is being an investor. Take a look at the companies themselves and make an informed decision, a long term decision. The great thing about the Fools is their focus on the company itself rather than the mere movement of a stock. The goal is to build wealth, and they have done a marvelous job with their service. It's not fair to complain about short term losses. In fact, it could be considered very narrow-minded. We have overcome much worse than our current situation, take a look at a historic S&P 500.

The day stocks were down 2%- and hammering financials- I bought more shares of financials (UMPQ & USB). Two days later UMPQ was up 40% and USB had made a sizable gain. I love reading all these doomsday predictors; they let me know when and what to buy.

Too many people listen to the media, who have convinced most people that financial chaos is just around the corner. Listen to mart03 above who thinks we are running out of hydrocarbon energy. We are sitting on trillions of barrels of oil and natural gas; oil and coal are not going away any time soon.

Despite blows to the financial and housing industry, the overall economy is performing quite well. Like all slow downs, this one will pass, and those of us have the guts to buy and hold onto the unloved stocks of the moment will realize handsome gains in a few years. If you can't handle the volatility, E*Trade Financial has a nice 3.3% savings rate on their online savings account.

The day stocks were down 2%- and hammering financials- I bought more shares of financials (UMPQ & USB). Two days later UMPQ was up 40% and USB had made a sizable gain. I love reading all these doomsday predictors; they let me know when and what to buy.

Too many people listen to the media, who have convinced most people that financial chaos is just around the corner. Listen to mart03 above who thinks we are running out of hydrocarbon energy. We are sitting on trillions of barrels of oil and natural gas; oil and coal are not going away any time soon.

Despite blows to the financial and housing industry, the overall economy is performing quite well. Like all slow downs, this one will pass, and those of us have the guts to buy and hold onto the unloved stocks of the moment will realize handsome gains in a few years. If you can't handle the volatility, E*Trade Financial has a nice 3.3% savings rate on their online savings account.

onyong: i may like Jim Rogers, but you give him too much power. he's not God, and you're way off. if you'd been following the discussion for at least the past 2 years from people like Peter Schiff, Mike Shedlock, the Sovereign Society, or even just listening to Bloomberg Radio, you too would have figured out that FNM and FRE would eventually blow up. JR, for one, isn't trying to bring down anything, he's just telling you what he already knows to be a foregone conclusion, and taking full advantage of it, as he should...

Many readers that post here rightly claim gloom and doom for the economy led by the financial and energy sectors and their drag on the economy as a whole. Having lived through some of these trying times in the past, one point remains foremost in my mind. No matter how difficult things seem economic activity will continue at some level - it always has.

The "trick" then is to learn and plan for the current and near term state of your economic affairs.

About two years ago, I remember reading several articles on the Motley Fool website (unabashed endorsement) about the unprecedented levels of individual and institutional debt that existed in this country. There were but a scarce few prescient voices at that time foretelling the only possible direction of future markets as a result of this tremendous debt burden. These warnings were not carried by most media sources of the day, nor was this information forthcoming by our financial leaders that are tasked with promoting "stability" in the financial markets" (please read the FED website FAQ).

Determined to forgo the terrible results that was heaped upon my retirement portfolio in the Dot Com bust, I took the sound advice of what I learned on the Motley Fool site.

Invest for the long term. By my definition this means purchasing investments that most likely will increase in value over the long term and liquidating under performing assets as required when the intrinsic value of those assets fail to adequately reflect market changes. Did I mention that the Motley Fool Million Dollar Portfolio does 90% of this work for me? I must point out the second condition was much harder to discern and required the most research due to the unique makeup of my retirement portfolio.

By following this strategy, I am now in the desirable position of purchasing investments for my retirement portfolio at significant discounts from their cost only a few short months ago. What a great time to invest.

i may like Jim Rogers, but he's not God. you give him too much power, and you're way off in any case. and what are you talking about when you say "american way of life..."? you and the rest of you neocons are turning america into something it was never supposed to be. the business of america is business, as calvin coolidge said, and that should be it.

if you had paid attention to the discussions for the past 2 years by people like Peter Schiff, Mike Shedlock, the Sovereign Society, and even Bloomberg Radio, even you would have figured out that FNM and FRE would eventually blow up. the best thing to do is to let them and everyone else in dire straits go belly up and let the economy clean itself out. Rogers didn't create anything. he only told everyone what was already a foregone conclusion, and took advantage of it, as he should...

i may like Jim Rogers, but he's not God. you give him too much power, and you're way off in any case. and what are you talking about when you say "american way of life..."? you and the rest of you neocons are turning america into something it was never supposed to be. the business of america is business, as calvin coolidge said, and that should be it.

if you had paid attention to the discussions for the past 2 years by people like Peter Schiff, Mike Shedlock, the Sovereign Society, and even Bloomberg Radio, even you would have figured out that FNM and FRE would eventually blow up. the best thing to do is to let them and everyone else in dire straits go belly up and let the economy clean itself out. Rogers didn't create anything. he only told everyone what was already a foregone conclusion, and took advantage of it, as he should...

i may like Jim Rogers, but he's not God. you give him too much power, and you're way off in any case. and what are you talking about when you say "american way of life..."? you and the rest of you neocons are turning america into something it was never supposed to be. the business of america is business, as calvin coolidge said, and that should be it.

if you had paid attention to the discussions for the past 2 years by people like Peter Schiff, Mike Shedlock, the Sovereign Society, and even Bloomberg Radio, even you would have figured out that FNM and FRE would eventually blow up. the best thing to do is to let them and everyone else in dire straits go belly up and let the economy clean itself out. Rogers didn't create anything. he only told everyone what was already a foregone conclusion, and took advantage of it, as he should...

i may like Jim Rogers, but he's not God. you give him too much power, and you're way off in any case. and what are you talking about when you say "bring down civilization", or "american way of life..."? you neocons have ruined america into something it was never supposed to be. the business of america is business, as calvin coolidge said, and that should be it.

if you had paid attention to the discussions for the past 2 years by people like Peter Schiff, the Sovereign Society, or even just listening to Bloomberg Radio, even you would have figured out that FNM and FRE would eventually blow up. this was not rocket science. the best thing to do is to let them and everyone else in dire straits go belly up and let the economy clean itself out. Rogers didn't create anything. he only told everyone what was already a foregone conclusion, and took advantage of it, as he should have...